Blue Jays top Angels yet again

Litsch overcomes rough start, keeps L.A. in check

Published 10:00 pm, Thursday, August 23, 2007

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Toronto rookie Jesse Litsch settled down after a rough start, and the Blue Jays continued their mastery of the Los Angeles Angels.

Litsch gave up three runs in the first three innings, then held the Angels scoreless as he pitched into the seventh inning of a 5-4 victory Thursday night, Toronto's 24th in 35 games against Los Angeles.

The Angels also lost two of three at Toronto on Aug. 14-16, and have dropped four consecutive season series against the Blue Jays dating to 2003.

"We had some chances early, then (Litsch) put up some zeros and they held the lead," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said after the loss trimmed Los Angeles' AL West lead over Seattle to one game.

Litsch (5-6) allowed three runs, two earned, on six hits in 6 1/3 innings. Jeremy Accardo ran his string of scoreless appearances to 10 games and 10 innings by pitching a 1-2-3 ninth. The save was his 25th in 29 chances.

"(Litsch) struggled early on with his location. He was leaving some balls up and they hit him around, but he hung tough," Toronto manager John Gibbons said.

"He found a little groove and rolled it through a couple of innings to get us later into the game. It's never easy against them because they've got some pretty good hitters in that lineup. But Accardo did it again."

Litsch had to battle in the early innings, and got out of the fourth unscathed by striking out Orlando Cabrera with the bases loaded.

Matt Stairs doubled home a pair of runs and scored another as the Blue Jays rallied with two outs during a three-run fifth inning against Ervin Santana (5-12).

The Angels' Vladimir Guerrero hit a pair of solo homers, the first off Litsch in the third inning and the second off Casey Janssen in the eighth, after driving in Los Angeles' initial run with an RBI groundout in the first inning.